Adendum on banking reform.
- Rebuild the firewall between retail banks, which enjoy state sponsored deposit insurance, and the risk – seeking „shadow-banking“-system.
- Break up megabanks under the auspices of anti-monopoly laws.
- No more tax payer bailouts of banks too big to fail
- A strict cap on CEOs´ supersalaries and bonusus. Tax them away in the case of non-compliance.
- Remove the massive conflict of interest engaged in rating agencies being paid by the financial institutions they are rating. Let the investors pay.
- Establish a majority state-owned investment bank for neglected long-term infrastructure investments (such as for clean and renewable energy in place of fossil fuels).
- Impose a financial transfer tax (Tobin-tax) on financial transactions across borders, both as an instrument of control and a source of revenue.
- Stop the taxation „race to the bottom“ inside the EU and make sure multunationals pay their fair share of taxes.
- Alternatively impose a minimum tax on corporations.
- Close tax havens – period.
- Entrust the ECB with full powers as a lender of last resort to member states (including power to issue eurobonds)
- Change the mandate of ECB to include both full employment and growth – in addition to inflation – like the Federal reserve.
- Establish an all-EU banking union for minimum deposit insurance and to avert capital flight.
- Coordinate monetary and fiscal policies on an EU basis.
- Strengthen the EU-fiscal arm by establishing common wealth and investment funds to sustain growth.
For further details consult:
- Atkinson: Inequality – What can be Done?
- Stiglitz: The Euro: How a ommon Currency Threatens the Future of Europe. (part IV. Away Forward)
- Robert Reich: Saving Capitalism.
- David Shirref: Break up the Banks – A practical Guide to Stopping the Next Global Financial Meltdown.